


Spy

by F1_rabbit



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, F/F, F/M, Spies & Secret Agents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-19 15:50:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5972989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nicola's good at her job, so good, that not even her girlfriend knows that she's a spy.</p><p>[fem!drivers]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spy

Estella watched as her girlfriend fidgeted with her glasses, her fork reaching out for another bite of her chocolate cake and she licked her lips, smudging her lipstick as she got every last drop of icing.

"Thanks, Esta. I'm going to miss you." Nicola gave her a hug, not wanting her to leave yet, but she still had to get the airport.

"I wish you didn't have to go." Esta held her hand, she knew that Nicola had to go to a conference for work, but it seemed like she was never home. Although IT never sleeps, servers run twenty-four seven, and that means that those who maintain them work crazy hours. Esta was glad that her own job was much more stable, working as an architect.

"It's only for a week, I'll be back in no time." Nicola fidgeted with her glasses and Esta did the same, an automatic reflex after all these years together.

Esta watched as Nicola stood up, giving her a kiss on the cheek before wandering outside to get a taxi.

*

Nicola got into the 'taxi' and waited for them to start driving before saying a word.

"What have you got for me, Jo?" Nicola knew that Jo always had the best gadgets, and in her line of work, that meant the difference between life and death.

"It's under the seat. Along with the latest on Danielle Ricciardo."

Nicola lifted the seat next to her and saw that there was a box hidden there, inside it was the case file along with two ceramic guns and some make-up.

"It's my colour." Nicola put the lipstick on, marvelling at the name of it – _Big Bang._ She flicked through the file, they'd been tracking Danielle Ricciardo, leader of the Honey Badger terrorist group, for so long that Nicola wasn't sure if she'd ever get a chance to apprehend her. But here she was, in town to sell the blueprints for a new kind of soldier, robotic ones. The Honey Badgers had stolen the plans from the Americans, and now they only had a short window in which to get rid of them before every law enforcement agency in the world was on their doorstep.

But Nicola knew that her team were the best, and that's why, with just ninety minutes to go before the meeting, they'd been called into action. "Are the others on their way?"

"Yes, Keva's on the roof across the road, if she gets a clean shot she'll take it." Jo watched in the rear-view mirror as Nicola put in her hi-tech contact lenses. They would enable Jo to see everything that Nicola saw, and send information to her without anyone noticing. "Marcia's posing as housekeeping and you're going in as the translator, we've got a hold of the one the agency sent."

"Good." Nicola checked her make up in the mirror, her hair was tied back in a bun, practical and business-like. It would also be useful if things got out of hand, there was nothing worse than hair in her face while trying to fight off attackers. She could definitely see the appeal of keeping her hair short like Keva.

"Cali and I will see everything that you do, and good luck." Jo pulled up to the kerb and pretended to take money from Nicola, driving off into the distance as Nicola strolled up to the hotel.

It was a well-known chain, although most people wouldn't have known that the parent company had close ties to the Honey Badger terrorist group.

Nicola put a smile on her face as she wandered up to the desk, showing her fake ID and telling them that she was here for the meeting with Ms Ricciardo.

"I'll tell her that you're here. If you could take a seat." The receptionist seemed kind but Nicola wasn't sure if she could be trusted, her senses were in overdrive and she felt like she was ready to pounce at any moment, but she wasn't going to let her nerves get the better of her. So, she took a seat and flicked through one of the magazines that had been left on the coffee table.

A heavy-set woman stepped out of the lift, and Nicola was aware that there were two other 'guests' in the lobby that were probably goons for the Honey Badgers. All of them broad shouldered and wearing jackets that could easily conceal guns or other weapons. It was only expected, and she tried to look disinterested in what was going on around her.

"Ms Banner?" The woman looked at Nicola, at least her fake ID had seemed convincing enough to get her in the door.

"Yes." She stood up, ready to follow the woman up to the meeting but there was something about the wrinkles on her forehead that suggested she was here to deliver bad news.

"There's been a mix up, Ms Ricciardo already has a translator. Sorry for wasting your time."

"What? I've got kids to feed and you lot are giving me the run around? I had to get a taxi to get here on time, who's going to pay for that?" Nicola made sure she was just loud enough to be noticed, but not so loud that she was causing a scene. Hoping that she'd be able to get into the meeting room, which was all she needed, access.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience." The woman pressed a twenty euro note into her hand and she knew that it was game over, they needed another plan, and quick.

Nicola strode out into the street, making sure that her heels clattered against the floor as she walked and pushing at the door with far more force than required. She hoped that it would attract their attention, keep them down here until she disappeared down the street, since Marcia was still in place.

After taking a convoluted route to the street alongside the hotel she slipped off her heels, grateful for the rubber lining in the feet of her stockings, designed by Jo and Cali, it wasn't enough to replace shoes, but it meant that she could climb the side of the building without worrying about tearing her feet to shreds.

"Jo, Cali, tell me we have a plan B."

*

Cali was typing at inhuman speeds as Jo was looking through plans for the hotel. On one screen there was a view of the alley that Nicola was standing in, on another a view of housekeeping cart being pushed along a hotel corridor, Marcia's view.

"Marcia, there's a problem. Can you get into the meeting room?" Cali held her breath as she listened to the hiss on the line.

"They've ordered room service. I'm going in now." Marcia's voice was low. She'd have to take out the earpiece if she was going in, leaving just her contact lenses for Jo and Cali to see what was going on.

"Keva's in place and Nicola's trying to find a way up there so you've got back up." Cali looked at Jo who was giving instructions to Nicola, helping her scale the side of the building so that she could find a way in.

"They're on the top floor, there's a bathroom window that you should be able to climb in undetected." Jo ran her fingers over the plans, hoping that there was another way, but the hotel had been designed with security in mind.

*

Marcia checked that her gun was loaded, before knocking on the door, she was so used to high tension situations that she didn't even blink when two big women answered the door.

"Room service for Ms Ricciardo." Marcia started to push her way in but the taller of the women put a hand out to stop her.

"We'll take it in for you." She took a note out of her wallet, thinking that Marcia was waiting for her tip, but when she pressed it into Marcia's hand she sprang into action.

She grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer so that she could head butt her, knocking her unconscious before elbowing her partner in the face, muffling her cries with her hand before using the handle of her gun to knock her out too. Marcia dragged the bodies out of the way, and pushed the cart towards the meeting room, hoping that Nicola would be in place by the time she needed an exit plan. Because right now, the only way out was going to involve jumping out of a sixth floor window.

Marcia had one gun hidden in her apron, cloths and gloves covering over it, and another just within reach on the shelf of the trolley, the tablecloth draped over to hide it. She debated whether to knock or just go straight in, but the element of surprise was probably her best plan of attack, and with that she barged into the room.

"Room service, they said to just bring it on through?" Marcia saw Danielle roll her eyes, and she knew that she'd definitely caught them all off guard. There was a briefcase sitting on the table, no way to know if it was the money or the plans, but either way it would disrupt the sale. "I'll just put the food on the table."

Marcia started unloading the plates, moving the briefcase so that everything would fit, and from the way it slid, there wasn't much in there. Could be a flash drive, but they could be paying in diamonds, a much lighter way to pay for millions of euros worth of stolen technology.

"I just need you to sign for the food." Marcia held out the pad with the order on, and a pen, her other hand touching her gun, ready for action.

Danielle huffed before coming over, and the second that she was close, Marcia grabbed her arm, using her as a shield as she pressed the gun to Danielle's head. "No-one move or I'll shoot her."

The two buyers were cowering behind a sofa, and the woman that was standing next to Danielle was crouched behind a chair, the end of her gun peeking out. Marcia weighed up her options, she didn't want to kill anyone, they were all far more useful alive, but as a last resort, she would if she had to.

*

Nicola had climbed up the ledges and balconies until she made it to the top floor. But there was no way to the bathroom window without passing the other windows first, it was too high a risk.

"I've got line of sight for the buyers. Nicola, I'm going to shoot out that window next to you. Go straight after the second shot." The little red laser of Keva's gun glinted on the window, followed by two cracks of glass, leaving two bullet holes. It was so quiet that those on the ground wouldn't have heard a thing.

Nicola slammed her elbow through the glass, busting through as the little shards flew everywhere, giving her the advantage. She aimed the gun at the one remaining person left who posed a threat.

"Don't shoot. I'm just the translator."

Marcia went to warn Nicola at the exact same moment as Danielle grabbed her arm, throwing her onto the floor, she was dazed for a second but that was long enough for Danielle's friend to have leapt towards Nicola, wrenching her gun away from her as Danielle pointed Marcia's own gun at her.

The sound of a helicopter whirred in the background, and the last thing that Nicola saw was Danielle and her accomplice climbing onto a ladder, being whisked away to freedom.

*

Nicola and Marcia slunk back to their headquarters as the two injured buyers were taken to hospital, complete with police escorts. They wouldn't be able to question them until later.

They were in Jo and Cali's office, since there was only five of them in the team it worked quite well, and it meant that they could have complete privacy.

Cali was bringing everything up on the big screen, she'd spent ages going through the footage that they'd got from the contact lenses, trying to find a good image of the accomplice. They'd got a few good shots of the 'translator' and she put them up on the screen.

"We're running her picture through all the databases, along with the fingerprints collected at the scene. But we've not got any hits so far."

"It looks like it was always Danielle's plan to replace the translator, sending them away saying that there'd been a mix up." Jo frowned at her laptop screen as she typed, the others waited for her to say something but she was lost in her thoughts.

"So the buyers had no idea that they were being conned?" Keva ran her hands through her hair, leaning back as she took another swig of her energy drink.

"It does look that way," Cali said. "These are our two buyers, known members of a militia group."

Their pictures flashed up on the screen, both were dressed head to toe in camouflage gear with an alarming amount of guns and ammo slung over their shoulders. They had both looked much more business like earlier, black suits and black heels, more like lawyers on their way to court.

"Okay, why are the militia interested in robot soldiers?" Nicola went up to the screen and studied it.

"That's the thing." Jo sparked back into life, carrying on typing as she talked. "It's not for robot soldiers in the way that you're thinking. It's for brainwashing people to be the perfect soldiers. No feelings, no morals, no fear."

"Can you do that?" Marcia looked confused, she twisted a blonde lock in her fingers, and she seemed agitated but this afternoon's mission had been toughest on her.

"No." Jo scrolled though thousands of lines of code, peering at her screen as it zipped by. "The buyers weren't the only ones that were being conned."

She pointed at the screen as the others looked on, baffled by all the code.

"It's a virus, designed to trace whoever uploads it." Cali rolled Jo out of the way, she clicked on few things and a video started to play. "This is all that happens when they run it."

Jo moved the laptop so she could type at the keyboard. "It's just random images set to flash up."

"What about the virus?" Nicola was really hoping that her two tech geniuses hadn't accidentally uploaded a virus to their systems.

"It's an air gapped computer." Jo and Cali spoke simultaneously before looking at each other, smiling as Nicola stared at them.

"The laptop isn't-"

"And never has been." Jo at least looked apologetic for interrupting Cali.

"… Connected to the internet or our secure network, so it's fine," Cali said, shooting Jo a glare and Jo held her hands up in apology.

"So why would the Americans report it stolen if it’s a hoax?" Keva downed the last of her drink and shook her head.

"I don't know. I'm going to have to make some phone calls, check we're not stepping on anyone's toes." Nicola stood up and the others followed, leaving Jo and Cali to work in peace.

*

They wandered into the agents' lounge and saw Stoffel curled up on a sofa, knitting. "I'm going to call Esta."

Keva smiled and shook her head. "Where does she think you are this time?"

"Conference." Nicola sighed, she'd promised herself that if her relationship with Esta got serious, she'd tell her everything, the whole truth. But as the years had gone by she'd never found the right time, and it seemed like Esta was better off not knowing, not worrying about her. She'd nearly had to tell Esta once, after she got shot during a mission, but a cast had hidden the injury until it had healed enough to not look like a gunshot wound. "I… I love her and I'd do anything to protect her. Even if that means lying to her."

Keva said nothing but Nicola could feel the guilt rising.

"It beats being alone." Nicola watched Keva compress her lips, she hadn't meant it to sound nasty but it did.

"I'm never alone with you guys." Keva strolled over to where Stoffel was sitting, Marcia following her and Nicola took that as her cue to leave, slinking off to the little room that they all shared.

There were three bunk beds pushed against the wall, tall lockers at the end of them. White paint and grey concrete floors made it feel cold and prison like. The place looked abandoned, nothing left out that indicated people were staying here, which was the way it should be. But it was a huge contrast from her room at home, warm and filled with photos and ornaments, reminders of all the happy times that she and Este had spent together.

Nicola sat down on her bunk, the springs of the mattress poking her and she called Esta.

"Hi, how was your flight?" Esta sounded happy and it made Nicola smile, all the worries going away for a little while, she was able to focus on her wonderful girlfriend and all the good things in life.

"Not too bad, just settling into my room for the night."

"Is it nice?"

Nicola laughed, the room she was in was anything but. "It's got a bed and that's all I need."

Esta told her all about her day, how she was working on the designs for a new hotel, and how she had plans to hang out with her best friend Sera over the weekend, since it had been a while since they'd had a proper catch up.

Nicola felt a stab of pain in her heart, before realising that she must have pulled a muscle elbowing out the window earlier. "I've got to be up early."

"Sweet dreams, I love you."

"I love you too." _But not enough to tell you the truth, or so much that I can't bear the thought of losing you._ Nicola couldn't decide which was worst.

*

Keva was sipping at her coffee, wondering if it was really a good idea at this time in the evening, but she wasn't sure that she was going to sleep well tonight either way. Stoffel was still knitting and it was starting to take shape, it looked like the arm of a jumper.

"How was your mission?" Stoffel asked, putting the knitting needles down so that he could look at Keva.

"It was a mess, and I don't think we've got to the bottom of it yet." Keva sighed, that was all she could say about it for now, until they worked out what was actually going on. "How was your mission?"

"Undercover in a nightclub." Stoffel smiled, Keva had heard what had happened, but she wanted to hear it from him. "Cover nearly got blown so I ended up having to make out with the suspect."

"Cute?" Keva's cheeky smile made an appearance and Stoffel bit his lip.

"Tall, dark, handsome. Good kisser too." Stoffel laughed.

"It's a pity you had to arrest him really. Although the Interpol red notice is kind of a turn off." She playfully nudged Stoffel and he went back to his knitting.

Keva wondered how he managed to get the good assignment this time. Although he once had to go undercover in a men-only sauna, wearing nothing but speedos, with no physical back up and only a knife strapped to his penis. That had been a fun mission for Keva to watch. Stoffel wandering out of the pool in those itty bitty shorts, water beading over his muscles as he flicked his hair back into place. They'd all had a field day back at mission control. Keva was sure that Stoffel knew that they were all watching, in the interest of helping out with the mission, of course.

*

Marcia wandered into Jo and Cali's office, which became their mission control when they were in the field. Jo and Cali were both working away, so immersed in whatever they were doing that they didn't notice Marcia taking a seat in the corner of the room.

"Can you send me the details of the militia group?" Jo waited for a response but Cali wasn't listening. "Pascaline?"

Marcia burst out laughing. "Cali's short for Pascaline?" Her laughter stopped when she saw that both Jo and Cali were on alert, Jo had her hand on her gun and Cali had moved back so that she was shielded by the metal filing cabinet. "Sorry."

"How long have you been there?" Jo put her hands on her lap, eyes still wide as she shook her head.

"I don't know," Marcia said, "I just needed somewhere quiet to think about it all."

"We've no new information on the mystery woman." Cali went back to typing, the glare of the laptop screen reflecting off her glasses. "We're using facial recognition to try and get a quicker match, odds are she's never had her fingerprints in the system."

"The buyers are refusing to talk, they didn't know they were being set up." Jo placed a piece of paper next to Cali, she glanced at it before nodding.

"Thanks, Josephina." Cali smiled and Jo rolled her eyes. Marcia had known what Jo was short for, but she'd always thought that Cali was just Cali.

"We should tell them they were being played, get them to take out Danielle Ricciardo for us." Marcia laughed at her own joke, but she still couldn't figure it out. Was Danielle in on the scam? Or did she genuinely think that she had stolen the files for the robot soldiers? It was all crazy. But she wouldn't put it past the CIA to try something like this, they definitely liked playing with fire, no matter how many times they got burned.

"You should try and get some sleep," Jo said, Marcia was sure that she looked tired, and she curled up in the chair, quickly dropping off into a dreamless sleep.

*

The next morning Marcia woke with a jolt, someone had put a blanket over her and she could smell fresh coffee in the air.

"Coffee?" Jo asked as she poured it anyway. Everyone seemed to live off coffee around here and Marcia was no exception. She thanked Jo for the drink and stretched out, sleeping on the chair wasn't such a great idea, but she'd been too exhausted to move last night.

"Nicola and Keva are on their way up. We've got some new information." Cali was putting pictures and copies of passports and IDs up on the screen. They'd found out who their mystery woman was.

Once everyone had arrived Cali went over the details. Their mystery woman was Daniela Kvyat, ex-Russian military, now working for the bad guys. She had risen quickly through the ranks but there wasn't a lot of money in it, and it looked like she'd figured out her skills could be much more profitable elsewhere.

"This is the first known sighting of her in over a year, and it seems that she's Danielle Ricciardo's golden girl if she's there at a big sale like this," Cali said, opening up another picture. "We've got satellite footage of the helicopter they escaped in, it took them to a small airfield on the outskirts of the city and they got a private plane from there."

"And that's where the trail runs cold," Jo said, "There's no flight registered as leaving on that day, and they went out of our satellite range after that."

"We're speaking nicely to an NSA analyst that might be able to help us on that front." Cali looked pleased with herself and rightly so, they'd done an amazing job on tracking down the mystery woman, Daniela, so quickly. The only problem was, it didn't get them any closer to catching her, or Danielle Ricciardo, and they had no idea what they were going to do next.

"I'll get Interpol to put a red notice out for Daniela Kvyat," Marcia said, she used to work for them so it would be easier if she was the one asking.

"Now all we can do is wait." Nicola chewed on her lip, she should have tried harder to capture them when she had the chance, but Daniela had pointed a gun at her, and the risk of Marcia getting shot was too high, so she'd let them escape. But she wouldn't be as kind next time.

*

A week passed as the trail went cold, it looked like Danielle Ricciardo had given up on trying to sell the plans. They didn't know if she was just being careful or if she'd realised that it was a scam. Nicola was glad to be home, but they all knew the reasons for having to stay after a mission, that was when you were most likely to talk, and that was strictly forbidden with those who didn't have the correct security clearance.

Plus, having the team around at times like that was helpful, and it was the best way to make sure that all the information about a mission was written down before time distorted their memories. Sometimes it was the smallest bits of information that made the difference.

But being home meant that she could wake up next to Esta, her dark brown hair draped over the pillow, watch the way she scrunched up her nose when she was dreaming, and enjoy the warmth of Esta's body next to hers.

It was a lazy Saturday morning, neither of them had bothered to set an alarm, there was nothing in particular that they had planned for the day. A quiet day in was going to be heaven for Nicola, a chance to finally unwind and put work behind her for a few hours.

"Morning beautiful." Nicola leant in for a kiss as Esta blinked, her soft lips sent sparks of lust throughout her body, she could feel herself getting wet as her nipples got more sensitive, brushing against the soft cotton of her pyjamas.

A soft gasp fell from Esta's lips and Nicola's hands wandered down to caress her breasts, gently rubbing over her nipples as the kiss got more passionate, teeth clashing as they pressed their bodies together. Esta wrapped her legs around Nicola's thigh, her nightie riding up as she was grinding against her and Nicola could feel how moist she was.

She rolled them so that she was on top of Esta, kissing the side of her neck as she pulled her nightie down, exposing Esta's perfect breasts, which fitted nicely in Nicola's hands. She stroked at the soft hairs around her nipples before taking them into her mouth, flicking at them with her tongue as Esta's breathing got more erratic and she began to arch her back, hinting at where she'd like Nicola to lick next.

Nicola slid down the bed, nuzzling at Esta's thighs, watching her writhe on the bed as her cool lips sent shivers down Esta's spine. Esta's legs were spread wide, her arousal obvious with her moist and swollen lips on display. Nicola gently licked at her clit, smiling as Esta groaned in pleasure, and she was getting wetter with each lick. She slid a finger inside her, circling it with delicate movements as Esta squirmed, her hands running through Nicola's hair as she focused on drawing it out, not wanting Esta to come yet.

When Esta's muscles started to flutter Nicola withdrew her finger, sitting up so that she could grab something from the bedside table. A pink glittery strap on that they'd spent hours picking out online, it looked silly, but it felt amazing.

Nicola was aroused just from seeing Esta like that and her end of the dildo slid in easily, filling her nicely as it hit all the right spots. It had been so long since they were intimate, and Nicola wanted it to be spectacular.

Esta dragged her into a messy kiss, tasting herself from Nicola's lips as she lined up the dildo, slowly pressing inside her as she arched her back, forcing it deeper until their bodies were pressed together. Nicola moved slowly at first, little thrusts but she picked up the pace when she saw that Esta's eyes were black, only the tiniest halo of brown remained.

"More, harder," was all Esta could manage to say, the rest of her English lost as she got closer to orgasm.

Nicola could feel the warm tension building, each thrust bringing her climax to the front of her mind, she was panting and covered in sweat, her pace erratic as she swiped her thumb over Esta's clit, watching her orgasm wash over her as she moaned in pleasure. Just the sight of Esta with a blissful smile on her face, eyes scrunched shut as she lay gasping, had Nicola coming hard, her vision went white as she collapsed on top of Esta, listening to her heart race as she got her breath back.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Nicola stroked Esta's hair, not wanting this moment of pure happiness to ever end. She felt sorry for her colleagues, not having this in their lives, someone that could make her forget all about the worries of work, and just knowing that she was loved had got her through some dark times.

*

Keva was in a cupboard, pinned against the wall as she rode his cock, the rush of orgasm clearing her mind, freeing her in a way that nothing else could.

She gave him a kiss, it was sloppy but her mind was still filled with that warm fuzzy feeling, where she felt like the whole world would stop just for her. He withdrew and she gasped, leaning in for one last kiss before pulling her jeans back on.

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

*

Jo lay sprawled out on her bed, the blanket covering one of her breasts as she slept with a smile on her face and the taste of her girlfriend still on her lips. She stretched out to hold her close but the other side of the bed was empty.

"Cali?"

"I'm here, I just went to get a glass of water." Cali slipped under the blanket, cuddling in close to Jo as she drifted off to sleep. Feeling safe in her arms and knowing that Jo felt the same, she could never have imagined that something as simple as a hug would be their escape from the chaos of work.

***

"I'm meeting Sera after work, I've just got a message saying she's having a rough time," Esta said, tying her hair back in a bun as she admired her reflection in the mirror, smoothing a few strands before grabbing her handbag and heading out the door. She blew Nicola a goodbye kiss and Nicola smiled, picking at her breakfast before she was due to be in the office, endlessly reviewing the information on the Danielle Ricciardo case, hoping that something would jump out at them.

Little did she know, that right at this very moment Danielle was watching her house and plotting her next move.

*

Nicola was sitting at work, watching Stoffel knit as she sipped at her coffee, she had wad of paper in her hands, printouts of all the calls to and from the hotel in the seventy-two hours leading up to Danielle's meeting with the buyers. She was hoping that a pattern would jump out at her, but there was so many calls, and no way to limit it by room, since they all went through the main hotel switchboard.

Jo and Cali had already run it through a program to see if there was any recurring numbers and find out who they belonged to, but that was far too amateur for Danielle Ricciardo, she would know that using the same number for three days would be easy for them to trace, and especially in a hotel that the Honey Badgers had links to.

Nicola didn't even use the same number for calling Esta for security, not that she thought Esta would ever do anything like that, but in her line of work she could never be too careful. That's why she used internet calling, much harder to trace.

And with that thought she was running up to Jo and Cali, asking them to try and find records of all the internet activity from the hotel during the days leading up to the meeting.

"You're asking for a lot of information." Cali was typing away, working on it already but she wasn't sure how much use it would be.

"Also it won't tell you what they were doing on the internet, just what sites they visited." A string of IP addresses flashed up on Jo's screen and she sat back, waiting for it all the data to download.

"I can't imagine there's a 'Honey Badgers recruitment' website." Jo laughed at Cali's joke, and Nicola nodded, she knew it was probably a long shot, but as each day passed they had less and less chance of tracking down Danielle Ricciardo, and without knowing what she was planning next, that was a problem that threatened the safety of a lot of people.

Nicola took a seat, hoping that this new information would lead to something useful.

*

Esta had been caught late at work and then the bus to Sera's place was late, so it was just getting dark as she strolled up to her front door. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer, and she got her phone out to call her. Esta leant against the door and it creaked open, filling her with fear. Sera never left her door open, no sane woman would leave their front door unlocked.

"Sera? Are you here?"

Esta pushed the door wide and kept her phone in her hand, worried about what she might find. She crept up to the kitchen, which was empty, when her phone buzzed to say that she had a message. It was an unfamiliar number but she opened it in case it was something to with Sera.

_Someone stole my phone last night grr! So this is my temporary number until my network sorts it out – Sera x_

Esta turned to run, if Sera had lost her phone last night then it wasn't her texting this morning, but there was now a woman standing in the doorway.

"Who are you?" Esta moved back, closer to the side door, so that the other woman couldn't block her escape.

"I'm a friend of Nicola's." The woman grinned, the accent sounded Australian and she had the straightest, whitest teeth that Esta had ever seen. She almost expected it to have that cheesy sparkle that the adverts had. But that only made Esta trust her less. She'd never heard Nicola talk about colleagues, or friends apart from Paula who this definitely wasn't. In fact Nicola had told her once that she worked in so many different places that she didn't really remember anyone's name.

"From Donaldson Technology Management?" Esta stared at the woman, looking for any sign that she knew Esta was lying.

The woman gave her a strange smile. "Yes."

Esta didn't even blink, she bolted for the door, forcing herself not to panic, she just had to get out of there. She twisted the catch for the door, hearing it click unlocked as the woman grabbed at her hair. Esta shrieked out loud, she tried to elbow her in the ribs but the woman slammed her head against the door and after that there was only darkness.

*

Esta woke up on a cold hard floor, every muscle in her body ached and her head was throbbing. The blood tasted metallic and she brought her hand up to touch her nose, it was tender but it didn't feel broken. She blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes to focus it but it was no use without her glasses.

It was a small room that she was in, no bigger than a jail cell, or the room that she had at university when she lived in halls. There was a musty odour to the place, like it hadn't been used in a long while, and there was an ominous silence. She was clearly a long way from the city now, and there probably wasn't anyone around to help her.

Esta checked all her pockets but there was no sign of her phone, or purse, and after crawling around the room, hands out to feel the floor, she was sure that her handbag wasn't in here either. She thought about screaming for help, but she wasn't sure if would make her situation any better. The last thing that she wanted was for them to shut her up.

A single tear ran down her cheek and she wondered where Nicola was, and if she was caught up in this mess too. Esta tried to think of all the things that she'd worked on lately, could this be to do with her work? She'd been working on a new hotel that had got planning permission on the edge of a nature reserve, was this the eco-protestors' way of stopping the project? It seemed so drastic and yet Esta couldn't think of any other group that would do something like this.

She was the quiet girl that no-one noticed, she didn't have enemies, apart from the ones that she made with her work. They'd been protesting outside her office for a few weeks now, but she would never have guessed that they'd be capable of something like this.

Esta slumped down into a ball on the floor, wondering what she should do and thinking of Nicola as tears ran down her face.

*

Nicola felt a shiver run down her spine, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and it was like a shadow had fallen over her.

Jo came hurrying into the agents' lounge, holding her laptop as though it held the secrets to the universe. Although if anyone had them on their laptop it would be Jo and Cali.

"I've been going through all the IP addresses and I've found one that was accessed every five minutes on the dot, continuously."

"Is that unusual?"

"Very. It would be typical for something that only updates at set intervals. Like a security camera." Jo showed her the IP address but it meant nothing to Nicola.

"What's so important that Danielle would need to continuously monitor it?"

"I don't know but Cali's trying to access the feed so that we can see it too." Jo headed back to her office and Nicola followed, wondering what this all meant.

When they got to Jo and Cali's office Marcia and Keva were already there, and all of them looked worried. Nicola was going to ask what was wrong, but then she saw what was on the screen. Esta.

Danielle had taken Esta.

*

"Nicola. Nicola?" Marcia was staring at her but she wasn't responding. "Could Esta be in on this? Could she be working for the Honey Badgers?"

Nicola shook her head, there was no way that Esta could be working for them. Or could she? They'd been together so long that she thought there was no secrets in their relationship. She knew that it wasn't true, she'd been lying the whole time and she was sure if Esta knew the truth she'd end things with her. But at the same time she couldn't believe that five years together was all a lie, every 'I love you', every romantic gesture, every orgasm. It couldn't all be fake, surely she'd have noticed before now?

"No. There's no way she's working for them." Nicola felt her blood run cold, if that was true, then it meant that Esta was being held hostage by the Honey Badgers. And somehow that was even worse than the thought that she was involved with them. "Do you have a location?"

"Yes." Cali brought up a map, showing an old abandoned hospital on the edge of the city, it was out the way, and yet close enough to have internet access, no doubt 'borrowed' from one of the nearby factories.

"It's a trap." Nicola watched as Keva and Marcia nodded, she'd do anything to help them if it was one of their loved ones in trouble and it was reassuring to know that they'd do the same.

"Better get the big guns out." Keva nodded as they jogged to their room, heading straight for the weapons locker, and started packing all the guns into a large holdall. It didn't take them long to get changed into their gear, Jo and Cali talking to them through their earpieces and watching through their contact lenses.

"Can you hear us?" Jo's voice sounded like it was inside her head, but she was glad that she had Jo and Cali as support. They were her best chance of getting Esta back alive.

"Yes. Can you see us?" Nicola waved her hand in front of her face.

"Picture coming through clear. We'll keep an eye on the feed and let you know if anything changes," Cali said.

"I've got all the details." Keva waved her phone. "Let's do this."

*

The drive took them twelve minutes but it was the worst kind of torture. At least once they arrived Nicola could go into work mode, her training kicking in and leaving her on autopilot.

"You go get Esta, and we'll clear the rest of the building." Marcia nodded before cocking her gun, they weren't expecting anyone to be here, but the building was too thick for the infrared camera to pick up anything.

The hallways were deserted on the way to the wing where it appeared Esta was being held, the old psychiatric wing. Nicola crept along, on alert for anyone approaching but it seemed that the building was deserted. She peered in each room until she came across one that was locked, the only one in the whole corridor and she pulled her gun, aware that this was the perfect set up for an ambush.

She checked the door frame and the lock for explosives before opening it, standing back as it swung open. Nicola held her gun out as she scanned the room but there was no sign of anyone, and all the other rooms were already cleared. Could Esta really be working for the Honey Badgers, had it all been a trap?

Nicola was about to go and clear the rest of the building when the door slammed into her hand, knocking the gun onto the floor. As Nicola grabbed at the gun she saw Esta dart out from behind the door and run off down the corridor.

"Esta?" Nicola ran after her, she didn't want to attract any attention but she had to stop her getting into trouble.

Esta froze and turned round, she was shaking and there was blood on her face. "Nicola?"

"Everything's going to be okay, but you have to come with me now." Nicola took Esta's hand and brought her into a hug, holding her tight until she was sure Esta was calm enough not to run off again. She started leading her out of the building, hoping that she'd be able to get her out to safety before anyone noticed, and they made good progress, until Nicola heard footsteps echoing along the corridor.

There was at least four sets of boots so it wasn't Marcia and Keva, there were enemy combatants approaching fast and she wasn't sure she could shoot them all without Esta getting him.

"Jo, Cali, is there another way out?" She kept her voice low, barely above a whisper. Esta looked at her with confusion and Nicola put her finger to her lips.

"Negative."

Nicola leant in close and whispered to Esta, "Stick behind me, follow my every move." She moved Esta's hands so that she was holding onto Nicola's belt, she was going to need her hands free if they were going to get out of here.

She peeked out from behind the doorway and fired a couple of warning shots before darting past the end of the corridor, angling her body so that Esta was mostly shielded from the return fire. Nicola grabbed something from her belt and threw it down towards the women firing at them.

"Did you just throw your lipstick at them?" Esta looked scared but it was nothing compared to the look of fear once the lipstick had detonated, showering them in bits of brick and Nicola hoped that Esta didn't notice the blood splatters. But they had bigger problems, the bomb had also alerted the whole building to their presence.

"I'll explain everything, once we get out of here." Nicola wanted to stop and tell her the whole truth now, but it wasn't the time, it would have to wait until they were somewhere safe.

They dashed into a room, hoping that it would be a short cut to the outside but Danielle was there and she managed to get a shot off before Nicola could raise her gun, she was more concerned about shielding Esta, and she took a bullet, throwing her onto the ground as Esta cried out.

Esta was crouched on the floor next to Nicola and she could see someone getting closer. "It's the end of the road for you, agent. You caused quite a lot of trouble for me." Danielle still had the gun trained on Nicola, even though she was barely conscious.

"Who are you?" Esta recognised her, the woman that had kidnapped her. Even though she was blurry she'd be able to spot that smile from space.

"I'm a business woman, and your girlfriend got in the way of a big transaction."

Esta heard the gun click and she knew that she was going to have to do something. Nicola's gun was lying close to her and she took a deep breath, grabbing the gun and pointing it at Danielle. Her arms were trembling and she was going to end up accidentally pulling the trigger with how much her hands were shaking. "Don't come any closer."

"You don't have the guts to shoot."

The sound of gunshots rang out and Esta pulled the trigger, the force of the gun recoiling shuddered through her body and she forced herself to keep the gun up, she wasn't going to let go of it until she was sure that she was safe.

*

Marcia crept into the room and saw Nicola lying on the floor with Esta sat next to her, and she was holding a gun.  Keva was just behind her and the sound of gunshots rang out. Marcia watched as Esta pulled the trigger, taking out Daniela with one shot.

Keva flew into action, pressing her gun against the back of Danielle's head, leaving Marcia to try and talk Esta down. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the gun and the way her hands were shaking meant that the gun could go off accidentally at any point, and none of them were safe.

"Esta, you're safe now." Marcia kept her voice soft, hoping it would reassure her, but she had no idea what was going through her head right now. She didn't know about Nicola's job or the fact that they were colleagues, and from the look of Nicola, pale and barely conscious, she wasn't going to be able to vouch for them. "I work with Nicola, have done for many years."

"Why did you kidnap me?" Esta asked, the weight of the gun causing her arms to waver.

Danielle took this opportunity to grab Keva and throw her to the floor, but Keva's reactions were quick and she managed to wrestle her to the floor, taking the gun back and shooting Danielle through the shoulder, leaving her curled up as she tried to stop the blood from pouring out.

Keva aimed the gun at Danielle, she wasn't taking any chances. "We didn't kidnap you, we came to rescue you, with Nicola. She's our squadron leader."

"Squadron? Like the military?" Esta wasn't sure why she was still talking, she should be trying to escape, but she wouldn't leave without Nicola and she wasn't able to get out of here on her own.

"Not quite, we're in the intelligence business." Keva said it as though she was telling Esta that she worked in insurance, or at the local supermarket.

"You're spies?"

Marcia nodded at Keva, it wasn't quite the truth but it was probably the quickest explanation that Esta would accept. "Back up is on the way and it's all going to be alright."

Esta didn't know who to believe, she reached out for Nicola but her skin was clammy, and she looked so pale. "Why would you lie to me?" Esta wasn't sure if Nicola was listening but she just had to say it out loud.

The sound of sirens grew louder and Esta held the gun until back up arrived. Esta was so concerned with Nicola that she didn't see Danielle and Daniela being taken to the hospital, handcuffed to Keva and Marcia respectively.

*

Nicola woke up with the most excruciating pain in her chest, and then she remembered what had happened with Esta and her eyes flew open. "Esta?"

A soft hand took hers. "I'm here."

"I'm so sorry, I should have told you the truth."

"It doesn't matter now, all that matters is that you're alive." Esta sniffed and Nicola felt a stab of pain in her heart, she wasn't sure if it was the bullet or the knowledge that Esta had watched her nearly die.

Nicola felt a tear run down her cheek and Esta wiped it away with her thumb, leaning to kiss her forehead.

There was a knock at the door, and Keva wandered into the room. "I can come back later."

"I'll go get a coffee." Esta grabbed her handbag and gave Nicola a kiss on the hand before leaving.

"Did we get them?" Nicola sat up slowly, wincing with the pain and Keva adjusted her pillows before saying anything.

"Erm… Sort of."

"Sort of?" Nicola moved her arm but it only pulled on her IV. "Please tell me that Danielle Ricciardo and Daniela Kvyat are in jail."

"Danielle's in jail…"

Nicola could hear the hesitation in Keva's voice. "Is Daniela dead?"

"No."

"Please don't tell me she escaped from the hospital." Nicola sighed but at least she'd managed to get comfy, or as comfy as she was going to get for a while.

"Undercover Interpol agent. They raided all the Honey Badger locations and rounded them up, that's the end of them." Keva shrugged, at least they'd been stopped, it didn't really matter who got the credit. "And, the CIA have admitted setting up the militia groups."

"Naughty, using terrorists to catch other terrorists." Nicola shook her head, they expected nothing less from the CIA, they were trouble, no matter which way she looked at it.

"Oh, and there's something else you should know." Keva signalled through the window.

"If it's the fact that you're dating Stoffel. I knew, in fact, I think the whole agency knows." Nicola smirked, she knew that laughing right now would probably only lead to her tearing her stitches.

"We thought we were subtle." Keva laughed, she should have known that trying to keep anything secret at work was a difficult task.

Marcia crept into the room, followed by Daniela.

Nicola's hand automatically went for her gun, even though she knew Daniela was Interpol, she was mad about her taking Esta.

"I couldn't tell you. It was all set up to look like I'd become a mercenary." Daniela was holding Marcia's hand, their fingers interlinked and they looked like a couple.

"Did you know?" The monitors attached to Nicola beeped a little quicker and she was shaking her head.

"I didn't know for sure, and no-one at Interpol would confirm that she was on a mission." Marcia looked at Daniela and she mumbled her apology. But they all knew that it came with the job, and if it was the other way round, Nicola would have done the same.

*

Esta waited in the hospital cafeteria until she could stand the smell of rancid coffee no longer. She hoped that it had given Nicola enough time to sort everything out.

When she got back to the room there were four people sitting around Nicola's bed, but they'd left a seat free for her.

"I guess I should really introduce you to everyone." Nicola smiled and Esta felt relief wash over her. She sat down next to Nicola as she told her all about her colleagues. "And you know, you can't ever tell anyone about this, not even Sera."

Esta nodded, she'd already had to get Keva to smooth things over with her work, claiming she was on jury duty. And Sera thought she'd been burgled, so Esta didn't bother to correct her. She wasn't sure that it would be covered by her home insurance otherwise.

Nicola took Esta's hand and looked her in the eyes. "Can you live with being Mrs Spy?"

"Mrs…" Esta's head spun with the implications.

"If you still want me."

Esta smiled. "I've wanted you from the second I first saw you."

**Author's Note:**

> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
